Stalled bills, scandal, and GOP defeat

The 109th Congress started with Republican hopes of restructuring the nation’s Social Security and tax code systems. It ended with the release of a House ethics report chronicling one of the most sensational scandals to hit Capitol Hill.

Republicans and Democrats agree that the Congress just ended will be remembered not for its legislative accomplishments. Instead, its obituary is filled with scandals, plea deals with federal prosecutors, and lawmakers’ resignations.

Bruce Cain, director of the University of California-Berkeley’s Institute of Governmental Studies, said, “The war in Iraq was the big issue. Once the public perception was that Congress wasn’t doing enough in Iraq, they became a ‘do-nothing Congress.’ That label really hurt them.”

While all sessions of Congress have their quirky and bizarre moments, the 109th was one for the ages.

The Congress was colored with the most far-reaching and still-expanding lobbying scandal, which ensnared several Republican legislators; allegations of bribery money in a Democratic lawmaker’s freezer; an ethnic slur that led to a senator’s reelection defeat; an earmark scandal that resulted in former Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham’s (R-Calif.) imprisonment; and the end of the Tom DeLay era along with the 12-year reign of Republican control of the House.

The following is a rundown of the major political events during the109th Congress.

2005

January
• Rep. Bob Matsui (D-Calif.) dies
• House passes so-called DeLay rule, then backtracks
• Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) formally challenges presidential election results

February
• Some Democrats hiss at President Bush during his State of the Union address
• Class-action reform passes
• Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-Pa.) diagnosed with cancer

March
• Congress scrutinizes steroid use in Major League Baseball
• Media spotlight on Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas) intensifies
• House and Senate move to save Terri Schiavo’s life

April
• Bankruptcy reform passes
• Bush defends DeLay
• House reverses position on changes to new ethics rules

May
• Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) calls Bush “a loser,” later apologizes
• Social Security reform stalled
• Gang of 14 averts “nuclear option” showdown, strikes deal on judicial nominees

June
• Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) makes gulag comparison to Iraq detainees, later apologizes
• Rep. John Hostettler (R-Ind.) suggests Democrats are anti-Christian, retracts statement
• Nomination of John Bolton to be U.N. ambassador falters in the Senate
• Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor announces her retirement

July
• Amid scandal, Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham (R-Calif.) says he will not seek reelection
• Valerie Plame/CIA leak investigation escalates
• Bush nominates John Roberts Jr. to Supreme Court; Roberts later easily confirmed
• CAFTA, energy and highway bills pass
• Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) speaks out against Bush’s stem-cell policy

August
• Reid suffers stroke
• Chief Justice William Rehnquist dies
• Hurricane Katrina strikes Gulf Coast, flooding New Orleans

September
• Congress returns early to pass hurricane-relief bill
• Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-La.) says she wants to punch Bush as criticism of federal and state response to deadly hurricane mounts
• Frist’s selling of HCA stock triggers investigations
• DeLay indicted, steps down as majority leader

October
• Bush nominates Harriet Miers to Supreme Court; conservatives rally against nomination; she later withdraws
• Approval ratings for Bush hover in the high 30s
• Vice President Cheney’s chief of staff indicted in Plame probe
• Bush nominates Samuel Alito to Supreme Court

November
• Reid shuts down Senate, calling for debate on pre-Iraq war intelligence
• Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) calls for immediate withdrawal of troops in Iraq
• Cunningham pleads guilty, resigns from House

December
• Democrats grapple with position on Iraq
• DeLay trial to continue into 2006, hampering his chances of returning to leadership
• Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) wins showdown with White House on detainee bill
• Senate tackles spending reconciliation bill and defense measures after House passage

2006

January
• Jack Abramoff pleads guilty
• Rep. Bob Ney (R-Ohio) steps aside as Administration Committee chairman, says he will run for reelection even if indicted
• Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-N.Y.) says House is run like a plantation
• Democratic filibuster against Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito falls short; Alito confirmed, 58-42

February
• Rep. John Larson (D-Conn.) wins leadership post
• Rep. John Boehner (R-Ohio) wins majority leader race
• Cheney accidentally shoots friend
• Proposed Dubai takeover of several ports explodes in controversy

March
• Senate passes lobbying reform bill
• Rep. Cynthia McKinney (D-Ga.) hits Capitol Police officer
• Tony Rudy, former aide to DeLay, agrees to plea bargain in Abramoff probe

April
• DeLay announces retirement
• McKinney apologizes on floor
• Gas prices approach $3 per gallon

May
• House narrowly passes lobbying reform bill
• Rep. Patrick Kennedy (D-R.I.) in late-night car crash on Capitol Hill; enters rehab
• Neil Volz, former aide to Ney, strikes deal with federal prosecutors
• FBI raids Rep. William Jefferson’s (D-La.) Capitol Hill office
• Senate passes immigration reform bill

June
• Murtha announces he will run for majority leader if Democrats win House
• Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.) becomes longest-serving senator
• White House political adviser Karl Rove will not be indicted in Valerie Plame probe
• House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) secures removal of Jefferson from Ways and Means panel
• Supreme Court generally upholds the congressional redistricting of Texas

July
• Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.) announces he will run as Independent if he loses Democratic primary
• Bush poll numbers top 40 percent
• Bush vetoes stem-cell legislation
• Senate passes stem-cell and voting rights act bills
• Pension bill passes

August
• Estate tax/minimum wage package falls short
• Ney announces he will not seek reelection
• Lieberman, McKinney, and Rep. Joe Schwarz (R-Mich.) lose primaries
• Massive terrorist U.K.-U.S. plot foiled
• Sen. George Allen (R-Va.) calls rival campaign aide “macaca” on video

September
• Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-R.I.) wins primary against Stephen Laffey
• House passes earmark reform; comprehensive lobbying reform appears dead
• Ney agrees to plea deal
• Armed man arrested on Capitol Hill
• Rep. Mark Foley (R-Fla.) resigns amid House page scandal
• Congress passes border-security bill

October
• House leaders defend handling of Foley matter; House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) rejects calls to resign
• Bush backs Hastert as Speaker scrambles to keep job
• Congress’s approval rating at 16 percent; Bush in the 30s
• Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) indicates he may run for president
• Political ad on stem-cell issue featuring Michael J. Fox triggers partisan debate

November
• Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) apologizes after remarks about the education of U.S. troops
• Ney resigns
• Saddam Hussein convicted, sentenced to death
• Democrats win House and Senate
• Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld resigns; congressional GOP irate Bush waited to remove him until after the elections
• Pelosi backs Murtha in majority leader race
• Sen. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) wins leadership race
• Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.) easily defeats Murtha
• Boehner and Rep. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.) triumph in leadership races
• Frist says he will not run for president

December
• Pelosi selects Rep. Silvestre Reyes (D-Texas) to head Intelligence Committee
• Bush administration gives up effort to confirm Bolton
• House ethics committee releases its report on House page scandal; report is critical of handling, but does not formally admonish any lawmakers or staff
• Tax, trade, healthcare and outer continental shelf drilling measures pass in final hours of session

Jeremy Jacobs contributed to this report.